Lu Xinyi would soon fall into Sun Feiyan's hands, and the Shen family could not save her. Tong Yan would make sure of it. The last round had officially started. The staff and proctors of Silver Leaf Academy distributed the ingredients for the devil's food cake.
"This is the last round for this year's examination! From 73 examinees, it decreased to 35! Ah, I know the previous round was really hard, but don't lose hope! Give it all you've got on this round!" Huo Meili tried to uplift the spirits of the tired examinees.
Tong Yan felt giddy with excitement. She couldn't wait to see the outcome of this round. She wanted to talk and celebrate with Sun Feiyan, to shout and tell everyone that it didn't matter if Lu Xinyi had the Shen family behind her because the Sun family would prevail this year.
She was excited to see what was going to happen… but she had to wait. She couldn't sit down, couldn't suppress the malicious grin spreading across her lips… couldn't even stay still in her seat. Surely, Lu Xinyi would not make it past the entrance exam. Should she dare to question the school, her application would be questioned in return.
Her gaze was set at the woman she targeted to sabotage. Until now, she didn't know the reason why Sun Feiyan had a great interest in Lu Xinyi. They were opposites from wherever angle she looked. Lu Xinyi wasn't even beautiful. Tong Yan was pretty sure Lu Xinyi couldn't compete with Sun Feiyan at anything. Her mistress was known for her intellect, wisdom, and eloquence. Traits that she couldn't see in Lu Xinyi.
Meanwhile, Lu Xinyi still felt her every fiber crying and complaining from the stress she had put on herself earlier; but she was also alert and focused. Adrenaline rushed through her veins. Her eyes were kept wide, and her hands trembled as she waited.
'This is what a cat must feel like, waiting to pounce on a mouse,' she thought.
The anticipation and waiting made her nervous. It tingled through her like electrical sparks on their way to the ground, gathering at her toes. Before she knew it, the ingredients for her Devil's Food Cake contained in a small box had been placed on her counter; and she positioned herself in front of it.
The countdown to start the last round ticked like the timer of a bomb. No one could stop it, reverse it, or slow it down. Each tick dragged the examinees helpless and nervous to the allotted time. Even Lu Xinyi could no more avoid it; the beating of her own heart pounded with futility against its cage. Sweat crawled down her skin that had grown pale, alerting her worried husband who was sternly looking after her. Then, the tremor in her hands begun.
Huo Meili's voice brought her back to her senses. "The last round for this year's entrance exam will start in three—!" The audience started to count down with her.
"Two—!"
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom "One!"
"Lift the covers and start baking!"
All the examinees lifted the covers at the same time. Lu Xinyi took notice and checked each of the ingredients provided to her. For this round, she could not use the other ingredients she brought with her. Any fault that might arise from the quality of the ingredients would affect the flavor and texture of her cake.
A piece of paper that listed all the ingredients was included in her box. Lu Xinyi took it and checked the items she received. A deep frown etched on her brows. She felt something was amiss.
"Flour, sugar, unsalted butter, cocoa powder, whipping cream, vanilla extract…"
Okay, so most of the ingredients were there; but she wasn't so sure if she indeed received the same things as everyone else. Looking around her, she saw that the other examinees were busy sorting their items while the others started the prep of their cakes.
Her hand reached to take out a bottle from her box. Her list said she should have buttermilk, but as soon as Lu Xinyi saw the liquid inside the bottle, her eyes widened. This didn't look like buttermilk at all! What's happening?!
Lu Xinyi let out a slow, controlled breath and attempted to loosen her body movements. This wasn't a good time to panic. Was this a mistake in Silver Leaf's part, or was it a challenge for them? Worried that it wasn't the only one that was wrong, Lu Xinyi checked the other items on her box. Her heart sunk once again when she checked her flour. Instead of it being cake flour, regular all-purpose flour was added onto her box.
The fear traveled through Lu Xinyi's veins but never made it to her facial muscles or skin. Her complexion remained pale, her eyes steady as if she were busy sorting her items at the countertop. She let out an understated sigh and turned her face to check the other examinees, but her poker face wasn't enough to hide it. Shen Yi was still able to tell that something was bothering her.
Shen Yi stayed at where he was. This wasn't time for him to intervene; his wife wasn't panicking but was in distress. He would let Lu Xinyi deal with it until she couldn't do anything. From the way it looked, something was wrong with the ingredients given to her earlier.
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